Kenya, U.S. Officially Seals Controversial Ksh207 Billion Health Deal
The Kenyan government and the United States have finally agreed to implement a Ksh207 billion health cooperation agreement that had been blocked in court for months.
Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo ratified the accord on June 8, giving the green light for the extremely contentious pact to be implemented nationwide.
“We have reached an agreement on the implementation of the Kenya–U.S. Health Cooperation Partnership, a five-year programme valued at US$1.6 billion,” stated PS Kiptoo.
The five-year agreement includes crucial characteristics such as disease surveillance and outbreak response, laboratory system enhancement, health commodities, frontline health worker transfer, and digital health systems, all of which are critical components of Kenya’s health sector.
Kenya’s National Treasury Principal Secretary, Dr. Chris Kiptoo, & U.S. Embassy in Kenya Chargé d’Affaires, Susan Burns, sign the US$1.6 billion Kenya–U.S. Health Cooperation Partnership.
See quoted tweet. https://t.co/Ysk4CyitmX— Julians Amboko (@AmbokoJH) June 8, 2026
PS Kiptoo made the announcement after receiving a courtesy call from US Chargé d’Affaires Susan Burns at the National Treasury, indicating a renewed effort to advance the alliance.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to deepening economic cooperation and strengthening trade ties.
Kiptoo noted that U.S. companies already play a significant role in Kenya’s job creation and growth.
“U.S. companies operating in Kenya continue to make a significant contribution to job creation, skills development, investment and economic growth, underscoring the strong economic ties between our two countries,” PS Kiptoo said.
The deal’s revival comes after the Court of Appeal temporarily lifted a High Court freeze on May 12, clearing the way for implementation to resume.
The agreement has not been without fierce resistance. Activists, legislators, and legal experts spent months challenging it, arguing it was signed without Kenyans ever getting a say.
For instance, Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah was among the loudest critics, arguing the executive pushed through a massive international treaty behind closed doors, bypassing parliament and the public entirely.
Consumer rights body, the Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) and the Katiba Institute raised alarms that the deal could expose sensitive medical data, including HIV and TB records, to foreign access, violating Kenya’s Data Protection Act.
Despite a court order temporarily halting construction, Kenyan Health Minister Aden Duale has said the project will move forward, describing it as part of a long-standing partnership with the United States under a biological threat reduction programme. @alysonle tells more pic.twitter.com/PmhHGeWSf9— Firstpost (@firstpost) June 4, 2026
In response to these claims, during the inception of the deal at the end of last year, Susan Burns stressed that the U.S. has no intention of harvesting important Kenyan health data.
Burns insisted that the U.S will comply with privacy laws in both jurisdictions to prevent any potential data privacy violations.
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“The government of Kenya will continue to abide by [its] privacy laws. We are just putting on paper the similar policies that we’ve followed for many years, and any data-sharing going forward will be aggregated,” Burns said.
Health rights organisation Kenya Legal & Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN) warned that full legal immunity granted to U.S. personnel and contractors meant Kenyan courts could not hold American firms accountable for any data misuse.
The High Court had initially frozen the deal in December 2025, just days after it was signed, citing serious constitutional concerns.
The U.S. government then paused implementation in February 2026, saying it would respect the court process.
However, the Court of Appeal’s three-judge bench ultimately sided with the government’s argument.
It stated that the freeze was creating a dangerous gap in public health response, paving the way for the deal to finally take off.
Kenya, U.S. Officially Seals Controversial Ksh207 Billion Health Deal
